Turret casting machine



June 1933- A. w. MORRIS ET AL TURRET CASTING MACHINE Filed May 6. 1931I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTOR. Al BERT W000 Mom/a A TTORNEYS.

Jim/15m: WHHER/LL, JR,

June 13, 1933. w MORRIS ET AL 1,913,945

TURRET CASTING MACHINE Filed May 6, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 11mmr W000 Mom/5 AND Y JZiMt/EL PRICE Mfr/IE LL,J

A TTORNEYS.

June 13, 1933. A. w. MORRIS ET AL 1,913,945

TURRET CASTING MACHINE Filed May 6, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR.ALBERTMM Mam/5 JAM/EL BQ/OE Wen/ER/L J/e.

7/ A TTORNEYS.

l Patented June 13, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT WOOD MORRIS,OF DREXEL HILL, ANT) SAMUEL PRICE WETHERILL, JR, OF HAVEBFORD,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO WETHERILL-MORRIS ENGINEERING COMPANY, OFPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE TURRET CASTINGMAC' HINE Application filed ma 6, 1931. Serial No. 535,344.

This invention relates to a metal casting machine or apparatus. It is animprovementin what we will refer to as turret casting machines. In suchmach nes a series of permanent in lds are carried by a turret past afilling station, a mold ejecting station, a mold cleaning orconditioning station (for example, a station to smoke the molds), a coreinserting station, and any other stations that are desired. A machine ofthis general type is shown in applicant Morris prior Patent No.1,239,808 of September 11, 1917.

We desire in the present invention to provide an improved means and modeof operation for manipulating the molds on the turret, for successivelycharging the molds on the turret with metal, and for coordinat; ing andtiming the casting operations while retaining all the general advantagesof a turret cast ng machine. In some effects these improvements give anew and useful machine operation, but some of them give better castingresults which are more important. \Ve will describe the invention inconnection with the accompanying drawings as an illustrative embodiment.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our casting machine with the left-handside cut away so as to permit a larger scale, and parts removed to makethe drawings clearer;

Fig. 1a is a diagrammatic view of a mechanical motion used;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a segment of-the machine as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, but with theassumption that a mold is at the filling station for the mold chargingladle to operate upon; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of electrical control means for timingparts of the machine operation.

It will be clear from Fig. 1 that the machine shown is of very largesize and adapted -to carry molds for both small and very large castings.A base frame 5 provides a central turntable support for the turret ortable plate 8. The turning movement of the table is slow and the lattermay be supported for rotation on a bearing plate carried by the base 5with an annular oil well around the plate, all shown dotted at the upperpart of the base. A part of hub 7 of plate 8 is shown in section and onthis hub is a. ring gear 1 which meshes with a gear 2, one-half the sizeof gear 1. Gear 2 is operated intermittently by a four-slot star Genevagear movement which we have indicated generally by 3. and its drive pinby 4. The motor m drives the Geneva movement through a reduction gear asindicated. The drive mechanism is such that ring gear 1 is drivenintermittently by the constantly rotating motor m and so as to makeeight distinct stops of suitable duration in each revolution. The numberof stops corresponds with the number of molds on the turret. We haveshown in Fig. 1a a diagram of a four-slot star Geneva movement ofconventional type. The stop wheel 3 is such as would be on the shaft ofgear 2, and keeper part 3 with drive pin 4 is such as would be carriedby the shaft of the gear reduction means shown above in Fig. 1. Tworevolutions of gear 2 rotate gear 1 a single revolution. And so withfour stops for gear 2 there will be eight for gear 1 in each revolution.This kind of mechanical motion for intermittent angular movements is sowell known that its detailed description seems unnecessary. Figs. 1 and1a give the specific way of adapting it to our purpose and will bereadily understood by a man skilled in the art of machinery who knowsthat eight stops are desired in each rotation of turret 8.

Around the periphery of the turret we have indicated (in Fig. 2) slotsor openings 11 extending radially. A vertical supporting plate 12 isbridged across each of these openings to hold the stationary half of amold 9. We have shown only one of the molds in place over one of theopenings, but it is to be with respect to the stationary mold half. Eachof the eight molds on the turret is supplied with a power cylinderarranged like the one shown in Fig. 2. I

At the top of each cylinder 10 is a valve box 17 and a rack and pinion18 and 19 (Fig. 1) to operate the valve in the box for admitting andexhausting pressure fluid from pipe 20. The rack 18 is spring-pressedagainst a cam 40. The arrangement is such that the control valve isoperated to apply power in the cylinder 10 to close the mold, hold itclosed and then open it, as will be referred to later.

Extending vertically from the frame support 5 is a central column 6 towhich the cam is secured (see Fig. 1). Above cam 40 a circular manifold21 is mounted for rotation on the column. A pipe 20 from each of theeight power cylinders 10 is attached for connection with a power source(air pressure) through the manifold 21. The latter may be supplied by apipe running axially of column 6 and then radially to the common chamber(shown dotted) in manifold 21. As pipes 20 rotate with turret 8,manifold 21 rotates around column 6, being suitably mounted and packedon said column for this purpose.

The filling station is indicated at line 3-3, Fig. 2, and the parts inposition for the mold charging operation are shown in section in Fig. 3.With the closed mold' 9 brought to position by the turret, a powercylinder 71 .operates piston rod 31 to elevate charging ladle 34 fornozzle pipe 35 to register under pressure with mold gate 36. Then fluidpressure is admitted through pipe 32 against baffle 33 to act on themolten liquid level and drive the metal vertically through pipe 35 tofill the mold 9 quickly. The gate 36 has a restricted portion which willcause quick freezing of a stopper portion in the mold gate. When thecharging pressure is exhausted through pipe 32, most of the metal in thegate 36 below the restricted portion drops back down pipe 35 (whichavoids large sprues on the castings), piston 31 is lowered by exhaustingcylinder 71 and the turret carries the filled mold away and bringsanother mold to the filling station.

As the molds are intermittently arriving at the filling station as theturret is rotated, at great deal of hot metal is necessary to supplythem in the continued operation of the machine. It is not feasible tomelt the large amount of metal desired at the machine or as part of themachine operation in the way we have shown By arranging the chargingladle 34 sq that it overlaps the edge of turret 8 we can provide ahinged cover which can be quickly opened. A flexible portion of the airpressure supply pipe 32 and its bafiie is carried by the cover so thatwhen the cover is opened there is a safe assurance that the air pressurecannot be applied to the hot metal. At desired intervals this cover 45is opened and ladle 34 supplied with hot metal by a ladle transport froma furnace operated according to foundry practice and generally independent of the machine operation. This supply by workmen is frequentenough to keep the metal in ladle 34 hot enough for the mold chargingoperation.

Our mold charging operation is an important feature of the invention. Weare aware that charging ladles for filling a mold by bottom pouringunder pressure are known. Such a ladle operation generally is shown inthe prior Patent No. 1,747,728, granted to us on February 18, 1930, inwhich a special type of casting machine is disclosed. But so far as weknow the mold charging operations for a turret type casting machine havenever been coordinated with the advantages of a charging ladle such aswe have disclosed in the present invention. It has been customary inoperating turret machines having the capacity for large casting molds,to fill the latter by the labor of a workman who is sta tioned with ahand ladle to fill the molds from the top as they go by his station. Ourimprovement is not in the mere elimination of this worklnans function.What we accomplish. is something more. It is to have one charging ladlefill all the molds on a turret machine under the right conditions to getbetter quality castings while retaining the advantages of the turretmachine. This is accomplished in the illustrative embodiment by fillingthe successive molds through a bottom pouring gate (and from the metalbelow the level of that in the charging ladle to avoid dross andimpurities) so as to keep the metal from breaking its stream (as oftenoccurs in top pouring with large casting work) and to keep all the metalin motion until the mold is filled. And this is accomplished by the onecharging ladle operating on successive molds while the others in themachine are stationed about for the desirable work to be done apart fromthe filling operation.

These considerations are. of exceptional importance in turret machinesfor this reason. The turret machines are adapted to make very largecastings in permanent molds and castings which have usually been made insand molds. When these large castings are poured from the top bygravity, as they usually are, the permanent molds (and the permanentcores frequently used) cause a rapid setting of the metal. Sometimes thebottom of the casting will freeze before the pouring is finished.Sometimes the metal will shrink too much on the cores before the rest ofthe casting is cool enough to make it feasible to pull the cores.Sometimes the metal near the bottom of the casting sets so far ahead ofthe rest of the metal that the casting has severe and detrimentalstrains set up in it before the mold can be opened. This all tends topoor quality castings. It is frequently desired to heat treat thecastings to improve their quality but if the casting operation has beencarried on in a haphazard manner without giving its steps order andcharacteristics determined by metallurgical considerations, the castingsfail to respond as desired to the heat treatment. We have conceived thatthese difficulties in the casting steps of a turret' machine can bepractically eliminated by arranging the mold charging operation at thefilling station as we have disclosed it. And of course the work isfacilitated by making our disclosed arrangement.

There are castings which need to have their cores pulled within such aclose range 0 time after the metal has set on the cores that adifference of one second in doing the work will make the differencebetween a good and poor casting. Such castings cannot ordinarily be madeon a turret machine in permanent molds. The old way of operating suchmachines does not give a. uniform starting point in time by which anycritical operation at stations beyond the filling station can beaccurately determined. They can now be determined at any of the turretstations by the fact, that in our improved machine the permanent moldsleave the filling station filled with metal that has all been kept inmotion until the mold was filled and started off to the other stationsat a more uniform cooling rate. This proper start for uniform cooling isfigured from the exact time of completing the filling operation and thetime between the filling step and the next critical step is made uniformwith the filling step for each mold. This exactness in the turretmachine operation would not be possible from operation in the desiredany automatic gravity filling of the molds by automatic pouring. If thelatter were used in a turret machine it would result in merelyeliminating the work of the usual hand pourer. But our automatic type ofmold filling in the turret machine goes beyond the mere elimination ofhand work.

Following these considerations, it will be seen that the characteristicsof our pouring association with the turret machine are ofparticular-importance. The bottom pouring operation substantially asshown is the one we prefer and which we have claimed specifically incombination.

- But we have improved the operation of a turret casting machine in thefeature of its mold filling op ation in a way which can be accomplishecbroadly by other specific apparatus than the one shown and with many ofits advantages. If we consider Fig. 3, it will be apparent that thecharging ladle could be shifted to the right, the nozzle 35 could beextended vertically with a goose neck top so as to contact with a topopening of the mold. In such a case the cylinder 71 would need to beoperated 'to raise the charging ladle to break connection with the moldand lower it to make connection. The liquid metal would be forced intothe mold by the air pressure through pipe 32 the same as in bottomouring. Or instead of a top or bottom liiling openin for the mold a sideopening could be used. n the latter case the charging ladle would bemounted to reciprocate horizontally instead of vertically to make andbreak the connections with successive molds with side filling openingson the turret. In all of these cases,T-bottom, top, or side pouring intothe mold,-as long as the level of the molten metal (when the airpressure from pipe 32 is off) remains below the actual mold orifice,

mold in timed relation to the turret operation can be carried out. Themetal may be raised through the ladle nozzle arran ed either verticallyas shown or at an angle. bottom pouring has the advantage over theothers in that it provides a simple way to keep the hot metal all inmotion as it is fillllxllg the mold cavity and until it is filled.

ith top pouring this might be done also but it would require specialmold filling passages and would not be so simple as that shown. With aside opening in the mold for filling, such opening could be on a levelwith the bottom part of the mold cavity and this would keep the metal inmotion until filling was completed. But it would not appear to be quiteso desirable as the bottom pouring.

With such possibilities in mind, we have claimed in addition to thespecific form of the bottom pouring arrangement, the structuralarrangement in somewhat broader language to take in the idea of theobvious variations that might be made in our specific form to get someimportant part of the advantages in the improved combination of apressure charging ladlecoordinated with the turret machine for thelatter to produce better quality castings.

Another feature of invention on the turret machine we have disclosed, isin the mold opening and closing devices, including the way of holdingthe molds closed by the power cylinders. Heretofore turret molds havebeen manipulated by mechanical means such as cam rods, etc. These havethe disadvantage of changing ing unyielding and not under all conditionsbeing capable of doing the desired work. By providing a series of aircylinders, with movable mold parts, on the piston rods we get theseadvantages. The mold is closed with a continued follow-up pressureconstantly available while the mold should be closed, a simple yieldingpressure for protecting the mold from unbearable strains, aself-adjusting mold closure to hold the molds together even when warpedand a pressure holding difierent mold positions their operation by wear,be-' f the principle of quick pressure filling of the at the variousturret stations, or between such stations. This latter feature is ofconsiderable importance when it is desirable to partially open the moldto pull cores or for any of a great variety of other reasons in castingwork. The turret machine is fundamentally a more flexible type ofcasting machine than other types and when provided with theair cylindersfor rotation with the molds to manipulate them in various ways aroundthe turret the flexibility of the machine is enormously increased. It isnow no longer necessary to adjust or change or substitute all themechanical contrivances on the turret to change the mold manipulatingoperations. It is only necessary to change the admission or the exhaustof the air cylinders as they arrive at one or another point in theturrets rotation. And this can be done in one most simple manner by themere peripheral contour of the stationary cam 40.

For the control of the machine, we have already described the mechanicalmovement for driving the turret 8 through a cycle of eight steps andeight stops. Obviously the number of stations, speed and time of dwelleight steps and eight stops. Obviouslythe work. The stationary cam 40deternnnes the admission and exhaust of air to each power cylinder 10 atappropriate points in the circle of each molds movement with the turret.lVe have not'attempted to show all such movements as may be desired byan indicated plotting of the cam 40. The desirable changes in thecontour of cam 40 must obviously be made according to what particularmold movements are desired. These will all be understood by the manskilled in the art.

It is desirable to time the operation of power cylinder 71 to lift andlower the charging ladle to correspond with the predetermined timedarrival of successive molds 9 at the filling station indicated in Fig.3. And the pressure from pipe 32 shouldibe admitted and exhausted intimed relation to the desired bottom pouring operation. This automatictiming requires a control device for cylinder 71 and pipe 32. We havejointly invented an automatic timing device for casting operations shownin Patent No. 1,816,491, dated July 28, 1931, which can be used for ourpresent purpose of controlling the time of the named operations.

\Ve have shown herein in diagrammatic form (Fig. 4) a lneans to controlsaid operations. Two timing switches with contacts 89 and'98 are on acommon shaft which is geared to shaft 91 so as to turn constantly, andto make one revolution for each revolution of the turret. The terminalswitch 90 in circuit 88 is arranged to be closed by contacts 89. Asolenoid 87 will be energized intermittently and eight times for eachcomplete turn of the turret. Each time the solenoid will operate thevalve stem 100 extending from valve box 95 to admit air pressure tocylinder 71 as indicated. The spring indicated will return the valvestem to exhaust position as the solenoidis deenergized. In proper timedrelation to this intermittent operation of power cylinder 71, thecontacts 98 close terminal switch 82, energize solenoid 84 to operatetliestein of the valve in box 85 to admit air pressure to pipe 32 andelevate the metal through the bottom pouring nozzle. The spring 86 willreturn the valve stem so as to exhaust the pipe 32 when contact 98leaves terminal 82 of circuit 83. As indicated, the contacts 98 areshorter than contacts 89 so that the air pressure will be applied andreleased in the charging ladle 34 while the ladle is held in pouringrelation to mold 9.

The turret machine we have described can be used either with large moldshaving multiple interconnected cavities for making small castings. Or itcan be used with very large molds to make single castings of larger sizethan is commonly made in permanent molds. It is capable of makingcastings a large as pipe sections and castings of a character having amuch longer dimension in one direction (height) than in the other, ofwhich pipe sections are an example.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A casting machine having a horizontal turret with permanent moldsthereon, spaced around adjacent the turret periphery, an opening in theturret under each mold to charge and discharge the same, means tosuecessively position the molds above charging and discharging stations,a mold charging device at the charging station comprising a metal strage ladle arranged to hold molten metal ingvsuflicient quantity toavoid the necessity r extraneously supplied heat between chargingoperations and means to cause registration between a bottom inlet ofeach mold and the charging device for abottom pouring mold fillingoperation, said means including an elevating device to move the chargingdevice into and out of bottom pouring relation to each mold when at thecharging station, power means for rotating the turret, for operatingsaid elevating device, and for opening and closing said molds, and meansoperable by the turning of the turret to time the application of powerto open and close the molds.

2. A casting machine comprising a rotatable table or support, permanentmolds arranged around the outer edge of the table, a mold opening andclosing device for each mold, power means to rotate the table andoperate each of said devices in definite timed relation, a mold chargingladle having means for pressure registration with said molds when theyare turned to a filling station and having separate means spaced fromsaid mold registering part to fill' the ladle, said ladle havin its moldre istering part underlying the e go of said ta 1e and its said separatefilling means beyond the edge of said table, 5 means for lifting thecharging ladle into registration with a mold positioned above the sameand means for applying pressure to the contents of the charging ladle tolift the metal therein to fill the mold through a bottom opening, saidladle having a capacity for filling many successive molds before it isnecessary to recharge the ladle through its filling means.

3. A casting machine comprising a rotatable table, a series of permanentmolds supported in spaced relation around the outer edge of the table,said molds havin a bottom gate for pressure pouring, a mol chargingladle having a support independently of the table and a pressureregistration nozzle for contact with such a gate, said ladle havingmeans to force metal vertically through said nozzle under pressureagainst all the metal in the ladle, said ladle also having a metalcharging gate separate from said nozzle and located beyond the edge ofsaid table, means to rotate the table to successively bring said moldsinto position for registration with said nozzle and means to lift saidnozzle into registration position with said molds, one by one, as theyare brought into position, said ladle being arranged to operate apartfrom furnace operations so as to charge the molds at a position remotefrom the necessary metal melting operations. I

4. A casting machine comprising a rotatable table, a series of permanentmolds mounted around the outer edge of the table, said molds having abottom gate for pressure pouring, power means to rotate the table intimed relation and bring said molds successively to a filling station, acharging ladle at said station having a pressure registration nozzle forconnection with such a mold gate at the station, said ladlehavirig'power means operable on all the metal in said ladle to forcemetal vertically through the nozzle and into the mold under pressure,and timed controlled means to cause registration of said ladle withsuccessive molds as they arrive at said station and to apply said powermeans to force metal into such molds, said apparatus being operable withheat supplied solely by 55 the molten metal placed in the ladle and saidladle having a metal charging opening apart from its nozzle, said ladlebeing of sufiicient capacity for many continued successive mold fillingoperations without being recharged through said opening.

5. A casting machine comprising a rotatable table or support, permanentmolds arranged around the outer edge of the table, a mold opening andclosing device for each mold, power means to rotate the table andoperate each of said devices in definite timed relation, a moldcharging. ladle having unobstructed upwardly extendin outlet means forpressure registration wit said molds when they are turned to a fillingstation, said ladle being located adjacent .the edge of the table andarranged to hold molten metal normally below the level of the moldfilling orifices, means for moving the charging ladle in-to registrationwith successive molds at the filling station, and means for applyingpressure to the whole contents of the charging ladle to force it towardthe upwardly extending outlet and into a mold whenever the chargingladle makes registration contact therewith, said ladlebeing ofsuflicient capacity apart from all furnace operations to hold and supplymetal for continued successive mold filling operations, said ladlehaving a hot metal charging opening with a cover therefor located apartfrom its outlet means whereby the machine may operate without a furnacemeans incorporated there- 1n.

6. A casting apparatus comprising a power operated turret with permanentmolds mounted in spaced relation adjacent its periphery so as tosuccessively pass operating stations, a power cylinder on the turret foreach mold, means to control the operation of the power cylinders so thatthey may be successively opened and closed by the cylinder atappropriate stations, said control means being operable by the turningof the turret, a mold charging ladle of suflicient capacity for fillingmany successive molds without replenishment of or reheating the metal inthe ladle between mold filling operations, and power means to place allthe molten metal of said ladle in direct pressure filling relation witheach mold as the latter arrives at one of said stations, said apparatusbeing arranged to be supplied with its metal pouring heat solely by hotmetal from an outside source supplied to said ladle, said ladle beingconstructed to retain the required heat within T the time that itscontents can be used up in the operation of the ap aratus as described.

In testimony whereo we have aifixed our signatures. 11

ALBERT WOOD MORRIS. SAMUEL PRICE WETHERILL, JR.

6 (CER'IIRIFIIGATE (NF GQRRIEC'EINDN.

Patent No,- LQB,

Antoni Wfiillll hltlRlS, El it.

it lo hereby certiiied that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as lollows: Page 4,line27 and 28, atrilteout the words "eight steps and eight stops.Obviously the work" and insert instead "at dilierent stations will bemade to fit the work"; and line W, tor "a" read "as"; and that the saidLetters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that thesame may conform to the record of the ease in the Patent tiliiice.

Signed and sealed this 8th day of August, A. 1). i933.

hi. H. Moore.

(Seal) Acting Commissioner oi Patento

